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I invite you to take a little stroll through Harajuka and down Omotesando. For the holiday season, six-meter tall lanterns line the street and emit a soft Japanese light-like glow. The illumination along this particular street started in the 90`s and was a huge success, but damage to the trees forced the street into darkness. Now, eight years later the street is aglow again. Before the area community chamber of commerce was named ｢Harajuku Champ d`Elysees Group｣, but are now called ｢The Harajuku / Omotesando Community Group｣ and the street has been dubbed “Eco Avenue,” transforming into an environmental-friendly enterprise. About a year and a half ago we started to meet with local businesses for workshops aimed at creating a fresh new kind of lighting event. After so many discussions we decided on not an illumination, but lantern light for the street. Although the street is a very modern strip overflowing with western culture influences, Omotesando is also an important approach for Meiji Shrine. So honoring both worlds we have pre-programmed lighting fit for a festive Christmas spirit, but the colors and atmosphere will be strictly Japanese for the New Years celebration. At first there was a lot of brainstorming and any and all design ideas were presented and discussed. A huge arcade of light, tree-shaped lights and other geometric forms floating in light, low Japanese-style light close to the pavement, or long strips of light hanging in the air…

2018/05/08　　Simeng Huang + Noriko Higashi Since we felt there weren’t enough chances to hear from our members directly, we decided to hold the first “General Meeting” in Lighting Detectives’ history. It was a lively event where the conversation flowed freely, and everyone had a great time enjoying delicious food and drinks. An easy-to-understand explanation of photography tips you should know for a Night Walk Survey We also presented on tools such as illuminance meters and luminance meters They shared the stories behind why they joined the organization We also exchanged ideas about which cities the Lighting Detectives should visit next We held a Lighting Detectives General Meeting & Night Walk Survey Introductory Workshop at the LPA office in Shibuya. This was the first-ever general meeting and the first introductory workshop in four years since the last one in 2014. A total of 24 people, including chief Mende, participated. For the first time, we live-streamed the entire event on Facebook and Instagram simultaneously, which allowed those who couldn’t attend in person to participate. By the end, over 160 people had watched the stream.First, chief Mende gave a presentation on the history and activities of the Lighting Detectives, from its founding to its current publications. He reported that the group, which was formed with just six members in 1995, has grown into a large organization with 980 members this year. After that, there were detailed explanations of the group’s “seven tools” (optical…

Colombo ⇒ Kandy ⇒ Galle 2018/10/23-28 Momoko Muraoka + Yuri Araki We surveyed the relationship between lighting and people’s lives in the Buddhist nation of Sri Lanka, traveling through three distinct cities: Colombo, which has seen remarkable development in recent years; and Kandy and Galle, both designated as World Heritage Sites. ↑↑The nightscape of Kandy, a World Heritage Site. The illuminated Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic can be seen on the right, across Kandy Lake ↓With few buildings featuring facade light-up or sign lighting, the nightscape is primarily formed by light spilling out from shop interiors ■What Creates the Night Streetscape of Sri Lanka Kandy is an ancient capital and a World Heritage Site in central Sri Lanka. In the heart of the city, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic—a sacred site for Buddhists—stands by the lake. Directly across from it is the colonial-style Queen’s Hotel, which evokes the British colonial era. During the day, this diverse streetscape allows you to feel the history of Sri Lanka. However, the streetscape takes on a different appearance in the evening. Very few buildings have facade lighting, and even the Queen’s Hotel, a city symbol, is plunged into darkness. Since shop signs lack extravagant electrical decorations, the nightscape is primarily formed by light spilling out from the interiors. Compared to the streetscapes of modern cities, the scene is like a figure-ground reversal. Even the city’s largest road has no streetlights for…

In the warm family picture painted by Yasujiro Ozu there are two types of natural light;  glaring, bright sunlight and the incandescent lamp, symbolic of a cozy family.  In the film, daytime scenes always seem very carefully calculated.  Doors and windows are always wide open and abundant light streams into the rooms.  Family life is constructed against this bright external background.   In other words, even indoors the presence of nature outside is sufficiently felt, as if one is outside when they are actually inside.  So, in the film when a outdoor scene directly follows and connects to an indoor scene there is nothing unnatural about it and the screen flows uninterrupted.  Nothing feels so good as when the sliding paper doors, sliding lattice doors, and storm shutters are all completely open in the house.  Fresh air rushes in and moves about freely.  This is characteristic of Japanese lighting culture and unique to old family homes built using a wooden framework construction style. The “Tokyo Story” uses this feeling of openness during the daytime extremely well.  The presence of the outdoors is sensed by bright sunlight or a cloudy sky and these backgrounds and natural light subtlety expose the delicate emotional bonds of the family. After sunset, the second form of natural light emerges in the film.  Compared to the feeling of openness during the day, a single incandescent lamp represents the warm family bonds.   I typically call lamp light the…

6 August 2004 This month’s Salon included a variety of reports from members who traveled to places off the beaten track, globally and in our very own Tokyo, to survey, but of course lighting. The less glamorous countries and forgotten views of Tokyo help to give us, lighting designers and enthusiasts, fresh perspectives on everyday lighting and foreign lifestyles. Mumbai, Jejudo, Busan, and the Sumida River are place you might just vaguely recognize, but Lighting Detective members shared their stories and adventures of what they found and learned in these lesser-known, but equally interesting places. Reported News, Surveys, and Events City Walk: Sumida River Waterbus Tour + Asakusa…Natsuko Ueda Mumbai, India Lighting Survey…Kentaro Tanaka Korea 3 City Tour Lighting Survey…Aki Hayakawa Candle Night Summer 2004 Performance…Saiko Tanuma